After reading a few of the recent posts, I am now worried about the reliability of the SMG. I have new order in for a 530 with SMG. Are these problems exclusive to the 550 or 545? Or is the 530 included. I have read the TIS on the SMG and it describes the differences in the clutch actuator for both engines.

 

haven't had a problem on mine yet

 

I had a problem with mine shortly after delivery but since then it has been fine. To be honest, though, I'm not sure I'd get it again. Although I love the rev-matching downshifts, I still have problems with smooth operation through the gears on upshifts. I also question the long-term reliability of these units.

 

Members here love their SMG to death, but afraid of reliability after warranty.

 

Mine's been perfect so far and I took delivery of one of the earlier units. I realize there are people who have posted problems but I think there are many more problem-free cars...

 

One has to realize that E60 forum members probably represent a very minute fraction of E60 members. The odds are that there are regular E60 SMG owners that are having problems and it never gets reported in our forums. The important point here is the fact that numerous dealers are not recommending the SMG transmission perhaps because they see a higher than normal rate of failure, when compared to other transmissions.

 

I don't know for sure but I think the dealers discourage SMG's because many people probably buy them thinking that they'll be like an automatic and are extremely disappointed. They'll then complain to the dealer about how they hate it, they'll trade it in, and the dealer won't be able to resell it because the majority of people don't want or don't understand the concept of the SMG. The dealers probably figure that it's not worth it to go through all of that so they discourage the whole thing from the start.

I don't think it has anything to do with reliability -- SMG's have been around for some time and have been tested enough to be reliable enough for the masses. For every SMG problem that isn't reported on this board, there are probably many more happy, problem-free SMG owners that are not reporting anything on this board.

I know it's not scientific but take a look at the SMG problem poll:
http://forums.e60.net/index.php?showtopic=12220

 

I've got 43K "spirited" miles on my 545i SMG and I have yet to have an SMG related issue. The transmission has been reliable and I was even commenting to myself today that it still has a nice firm shift. Would I get one again - absolutely!

I wonder if some of the people having "issues" with the SMG try to torque-brake as if it was an auto??????

 

Good point realtyman. I assume when you say "torque-brake" you're referring to something like using the gas to hold the car stationary on a hill (like riding the clutch in a manual.)

I'm sure many people do that and it's clearly something that will cause damage or problems...

 

Hey Rudy,

I've never done it on my E-60 'cuz I know it's a "Manual" (although I've done it on many slush-box trannies in my past).
Same as using the go-pedal to keep it from rolling back on a hill.
Could be just me, but I think that many SMG "issues" may be a result of "operator error".